james_de_h

I was looking to buy a lightly used EOS 20D as a back-up and ?every day walk

around? alternative to my 5D. The latter is now virtually riveted to my 16-

36mm lens for work and I rely on it too much to risk it at rugby matches,

swimming galas and other child centred activities that swallow my weekends

whole.

 

A 20D plus the 24-105 IS ?L? glass I purchased with the 5D should make a

cracking combination, even if they are over kill for the ?hobby? shooting I

would mainly use them for. But with the 400D / XTi Rebel coming on the scene I

have considered the latter as an alternative body. Although the 20D boasts

better build, the 400D would be new, has had good reviews and it should be

equally good, or better, with the 24-105.

 

Refurbished 20Ds and new 400Ds are similar money in the UK, the former

carrying a proper full year warranty. Anyone been through a similar purchase

decision? I suspect that real world images from either would be difficult to

tell from eachother.

I posed a near similar question but in reference to my 16-35mm lens. A message that came back was wait, try using the lens on the 5D and only after really thinking decide whether or not to sell it on. It proved good advice. There have been several occasions where the 16-35mm has enabled me to win a shot that the 24mm end of the 24-105 would not have allowed. Keep your 17-40. My 16-35mm is on my 5D as I tap this out and the two work together really well. Oh, don't get hooked up on light fall off in the corners!

 

Regards

 

James

I can make my 5D and 24-105 display light fall off. Select F4, zoom out to 24mm and shoot at ISO 400 in a poorly lit room. Does this bother me? Is my 5D a poor camera? Is it a faulty 24-105? No idea. For every poor shot I get more that I can use. RAW and a bit of a fiddle in CS2 can recover more than I would have dared to expect with my now long gone 10D. It is a problem if you want it to be. Me, I just use the 5D and every time I pick it up I love it just a little bit more. Nice nippers by the way Giampi. Children and cameras are a real happy mix.

 

J

Thanks all those who have made a comment. To Puppy Face, I understand exactly what you are saying, but I did not explain just how much I spent on film and processing in my film days. Using fresh Fuji slide film, I never used prints, and a top notch pro-lab cost me a great deal, not to mention the time it took to drive to the lab and then pick the film up a day later. Although 'while-u-wait' processing was on offer, this was not always possible as the guy I liked to do my work was sometimes unavailable. We seem to forget that film processing takes skill too. I have looked through my accounts, and I see that I was on average spending in excess of Sterling ﾣ45 per job on consumerables. The resultant transparancies had to then be selected, cut up, mounted and dispatched to the client by courier or costly premium mail service. Now, I shoot raw, process in CS2 and email a JPEG. Those that use my work do not have to scan in a tranny and I have the ability to produce an image I want used as opposed to relying on a third party to do it for me. Although I am not a pro, photography is a valuable aspect of my work and one that digital has made more rewarding. In three years the savings in film and processing has easily paid for all my current kit. Do a simple calculation; say one job a week @ ﾣ40 x a 40 week year x 3. That comes to ﾣ4,800. On top of that, I get paid a modest sum for my pictures.... Sorry to those of you who are not rewarded for your work. I bet every one of you is a far better photographer than I am and some of you live in lovely parts of the world too! James

A while back I posted a daft question relating to my then 'redundant' 16-35mm

lens. I was contemplating selling it. Since moving sideways from an EOS 10D to

and EOS 5D, I thought the 24-105 I bought with the new body would make my 16-

35 lens redundant. So much so I stopped using it. What a fool I was! I put the

16-35 on for a job a few weeks back and it has been virtually glued on since.

It has enabled me to work inside and up close on some really tricky projects

and delivered simply fantastic results.

 

An example was taking a picture of the sieves in the back of a combine

harvester. Without a tripod and just a 550EX flash, I took a shot that was

clear enough to reveal the adjustment settings on the leading edge of the

sieves. It was pitch black in there, but the result was near studio quality.

 

Since reading this forum I have learned to shoot RAW as well. Being able to

adjust sharpness is the key issue for me. Take a picture of a vehicle

radiator, for example, and see how adjusting the sharpening effect can reduce

banding caused by the fins on the printed image. It is just brilliant.

 

Thanks forum contributors who have really helped me learn to exploit what

digital has to offer. Much as I loved my old film bodies, I would not want to

go back. Savings in film and processing alone have 'paid' for all the kit I

now use. And now I have learned to exploit RAW and CS2 it is me, and not the

chemistry of transparency film and a processing lab, that determines how the

end results get reproduced.

 

I am still learning after a quarter of a century of picture taking and still

get excited when slotting a CF card into my PC and seeing the images full

scale for the first time. Thanks to all who make this forum a positive place

to visit.

I picked this up via my daft question about selling my 16-35; I am, by the way, going to hang on to the latter. I used it for the first time in ages yesterday and its colour reproduction seems better than my 24-105.

 

Reference Canon UK service, I think the word patience is appropriate. It took them 5 weeks to return my kit but, and it is an important but, despite the camera body being out of warranty and the lens being within in I did not get a bill and they even paid return postage. The kit came back as clean as a new pin and there was a list of what had been checked. I bought my current kit from Fixation in London. I have to say they wuod now be my first point of call as they understand the needs of those who need a camera for work. Regards James

A lot of input from you ever helpful contributors - sorry about the spelling mistakes in my original post by the way. I do a lot of work taking pictures of the insides of vehicles, but not to high quality studio standards and typically hand held; the pictures are reproduced in magazines so I get the results I need.

 

I am taking the 16-35 out with me in the morning and will see if it produces 'better' results for me. This silly post of mine is a bit like confession; I know I am wrong to hang on to something I do not need but I know hanging onto it is easier than giving it up. The suggestion of a fine meal with a pretty girl appeals, but good eating places are thin on the ground in these parts!

I purchased my EF 16-35mm 'L' lens to go with my now replaced EOS

10D in September 2004. I could lie and say it was a match made in

heaven; but the camera and lens had to go back to Canon UK following

focussing problems and it was only after this that the two items

worked together happily. The combination went on to produce some

excellent photographs.

 

I have now moved to an EOS 5D and with this I purchased with a 24-

105 'L'. These two work together so well that I now find the 16-35

is gathering metaphotical dust in my gadget bag (Actaully it is in

its box in a cupboard). Common sense tells me to sell it. But I want

someone to persuade me not to. It is a lovely lens, just looking at

it making me feel happy! Similarly it is daft to have it not earning

its keep. A nice dilemma to be in, but it worries me to have

something that I seldom use.

I read your post after updating my firmware from 1.01. I know from experience that this simple task must be done correctly. It is important to format the CF card in the camera, to download the file to your pc and extract the upgrade to the pc before copying it to the CF card. I messed up this proceedure on my 10D but the camaera forgave me and I sorted myself out. It is frustrating that Cano have issed a couple of firmware upgrades I suppose, but personally I think this shows good product support, dealing with issues with a patch rather than letting them build so a bigger change needs downloading.

 

Hope you are sorted out now. I have had over 150 published shots from my 5D now and must say it is the best item of hardware I have ever invested in. (I said that about my 10D too!)

I purchased my EOS 5D and 24-105 F4 L from Fixation in London. They are a good professional supplier. Try Fixation Info [info@fixationuk.com]

I was on an outdoor shoot with a press photographer last week; he was using a D200 and I was using my 5D with my 24-105 'L' IS. I have never claimed to be anything other than a poor photographer. He has won prizes in the UK for his work.

 

Late in the day we were comparing our results on a 21 inch iiyama monitor. We then had the luxury of seeing a selection of prints reproduced in magazines on Monday. His were good on the monitor and excellent when reproduced. So were mine. I enjoyed trying his D200, but the viewfinder was not a patch on the 5D. He enjoyed taking a few shots with my camera; he preferred the viewfinder but felt the D200 handled better. We both felt the 5D was up to hard use, but the D200 does feel more solid. Both are great cameras. Try them both and make up your mind that way. Bet you choose a 5D!

I moved sideways from my 10D to an EOS 5D in January. I love the 10D, but the 5D is superior in all ways except no pop-up flash. Image quality is superior IMHO. Mainly smoothness, colour (color)reproduction and handling of shadow. Also my 16-35mm F2.8 is now a genuine wide angle lens. That is important for me. I sell my pictures as part of my work,so the camera is a money earning tool, but I still think the 5D is a worthy move up from a 10D for a keen enthusiast with deep enough pockets. I do not know about the 20D. I tried one but it was not a significant improvement over the 10D.

I stole one of the spare bottom screen protectors that came with my son's Nintendo DS games console. I only had to trim a small sliver from one side and the protectector went on well.

Hi Chris,

 

I had similar problems using the 16-35 on my 10D. I just could not get the focus right. I sent the lens to Canon UK; not the most verbal and communicative of people intitially but when I got through to a tech guy he was first class. Long story short, sent it to them and it came back not only fixed but clean as a new pin. The lens was well out of warranty, so I was expecting a bill. When the lens was returned, the invoice said 'good will repair' and charged only for P&P. I sent a cheque in payment, but it was returned with a compliment slip saying ' sorry, should have not charged'. There is a downside. The fix took about a month....

 

I think the lens is a bit fussy. It works better on some bodies than others. I tried it on a 1Ds MkII and it delivered simply staggering quality. I then tried it on my own 1Ds as a comparison, and the results were only good. I have since sold the 1Ds and replaced it with a 5D. (RSI in my left arm made the 1Ds too heavy, hence the 10D) and the 16-35 LOVES it. Persevere with Canon. They get a lot of stick in the UK, but I have found patience, good manners and talking to the right people is a key. Also I use Fixation. Good company and better with pro-kit now Jessops have gone all consumer. I miss having a shop I can pop into to get a problem sorted out, but Fixation are great over the telephone and have a hire service.

I had a Sigma wide angle zoom lens a while back that was noisy; I am afraid to say I cannot remember the focal lengths or model because I sold it almost as soon as I bought it. It was not a current DX models. The lens worked fine, but I recall I was worried that it made a grinding sound when focusing. I used it on an EOS 10D. The subsequent user of the lens still loves it and it has not let him down in over two years of hard use.

 

I was told by a dealer that with Sigma lenses it is important to avoid manually focusing with autofocus on. This was over 10 years ago, but even on my Canon lenses I switch of AF before doing any manual focus adjustment.

Blimey Ed, I think I will need to lie down after that comprehensive list. Really interesting. I cannot argue with your comments, but thankfully Macro work does not take up too much of my time; at the risk of upsetting anyone I am afraid to say I use a tripod and patience. A pain, yes, but it works OK. I also use a bean bag. Lens wise, it looks as if I will be heading toward a Canon Macro, thanks for the advice to you and Richard, and maybe a ring flash. I actually have never had a problem with Sigma kit, but I have more recently stuck with Canon lenses as I have a good supplier who is always keen to accept my surplus gear in part exchange. As an aside, the EOS 5D including lens came in at around USD 3750 (2150 plus 17.5 % VAT in UK). I got around USD 735 (425 stirling) for my 10D. I get the UK VAT tax knocked off as the EOS 5D is a business tool. I use a Canon Powershot A70 for hobby work. Perhaps I should not have said that. The best photograph I ever took was with an Olympus OM10 with manual adapter using Ilford HP5 B&W. The worst series of photographs I have taken are with a canon 1Ds plus 16-35mm 'L' lens. Every shot was poorly composed and exposed. CS2 and RAW rescued the organic idiot pressing the shutter release, but great kit does not rescue a poor photographer. But it helps.

Firstly a Happy New Year to you all. I last posted a question

relating to my 'sideways' proposed move from an EOS 10D to the 5D

(November 1, 2005). I have now made the switch, and have the 5D plus

EF 24-105 'L' IS lens. (Tempted by good kit price!).

The 10D has a new keeper and I hope he gets as much use out of it as

I have.

 

Now to my question. For close up work on the 10D I used my old EF 28-

80 3.5-5.6f Mk1 consumer lens on its Macro setting. The quality this

produed was fine on the 10D, but the 5D treats this lens in the same

way my 1Ds did; with contempt. I cannot expalin this particualry

well, but suffice to say the images are not a match for the 24-105.

Put them side by side and the 28-80 shots look as if they have been

taken at with poor quality ISO 400 transparency film with Braille

highlights to help the visually impaired. I also have a 16-35mm, but

this is not a close up lens either. Any suggestions? I need to be

able to photograph 'inside' mechanical items, such as gearboxes, and

do close up shots to show wear on items like gears and valves.

 

The 24-105 actually works better than I expected, buy it is not the

right tool to get in close. I have not done much with it in this

respect, but just know I will need to take a shot and then possibly

find a need another lens to get what I want. When I need flash, I

use a 550EX Speelight. Again, I have not used this much with the 5D

but it was pressed into service a lot with the 10D with 16-35.

Thanks for all the input. I have decided to hang back and wait; it appears there may be a quality issue with the 24-105mm lens and prices in the UK have changed a good deal of late too. A tax inclusive (17.5%) UK price for EOS 5D bodies is now around 1900 pounds sterling. That is a significant 600 pounds less than when the camera was first launched. Maybe I would be better off with a 20D replacement, this probably arriving just as the extended warranty on my 10D expires. I still love the latter. Despite a lot of use it still looks and behaves as new. That may be because I still treat it as if it has film in it. Thanks, once again, to all who added their comments. This wide angle business can be a real problem area. J

I am a technical writer, and have to supply my own photography to go

with my words. Since I purchased it in May 2003, my EOS 10D has been

my best mate, allowing me to take pictures that are far better than

my abilities.

 

To get the wide angles I need, I bought a 16-35mm F2.8 Canon ?L?

series to go with it. OK, I know a 17-40 would have been cheaper,

but F2.8 has allowed me to win shots that F4.0 would have struggled

with at ISO 200. Well this is what I tell myself - I still treat the

10D as if it has Fuji Provia inside. Plus 1mm at fully wide makes a

big difference.

 

I also work with 28-80mm F3.5-5.6 Mk I Ultrasonic lens that I bought

with my Canon EOS 10 back in 1993. The latter still produces

excellent results with the 10D, and although it is not an ?L? series

lens it does the job and is a good companion to the 10D and 16-35.

 

Now to my question. My eyesight is starting to struggle with the

small 10D viewfinder. I am finding it increasingly difficult to

compose a shot that accurately matches the item being photographed.

I have used a Canon EOS 1Ds, and this made composing my shots a lot

easier. But that camera is too bulky for me.

 

I have subsequently tried an EOS 5D, and this seems like a perfect

match; smaller than an EOS 1 body but with a full frame sensor. The

trouble is, it will possibly show up the 28-80mm F3.5-5.6 Mk I

Ultrasonic lens in the same way the 1Ds did ? the latter seemed very

reluctant to produce good clear images with this lens, unlike the

10D which loves it. So, do you think I should:

 

1. Buy a 5D with a 24-105 lens (some good deals on this at present)

2. Sell the 10D to help pay for the above combination

3. Keep the 10D for the 28-80 and buy a 5D for use only with the 16-

35.

 

The flaw with plan 3 is two cameras. But nice to have a good back-

up.

 

Any ideas welcome. My 10D has produced well over 1,000 printed

shots, so it does not owe me a penny.

I find the technical answers to this type of question very interesting, even if I struggle to grasp a lot of what is said. I have 16-35mm F2.8 lens that is virtually glued to the front of my EOS 1Ds. This camera and lens combination does not suffer fools, and can produce appallingly soft pictures in certain circumstances. The key is, of course, aperture to shutter speed. I find F8 is needed for any type of landscape work, so if the light says 2.8, I say tripod. Conversely, I have taken near macro shots at 2.8 and had results so sharp you can cut yourself.

Calm down, be patient, and wait. Let the first buyer's put up with the bugs that need a firmware update and let them also pay the initial premium this model will carry. If prices appear to be going soft before the 5D is out of the blocks, future pricing will reflect this. I am just worried that my 1Ds will not be worth anything soon. That such a well made, reliable and high definiation tool can be considered near obsolete so quickly has taught me a valuble lesson in not following the crowd.

I too have an EOS 10D, and I have used it since May 03. With my consumer 28-80 USM Mk I 3.5-5.6 it takes perfectly focused shots. With my 16-35 'L' 2.8 it takes in focus pictures close up, but has very soft focus on pictures taken from any distance; say in excess of 4.0m. The lens is fine and has been checked both by Canon and on my own 1Ds. I have tried stopping the 16-35 down to get around the problem, but the only cure is manual focus. Not much help, but you are not alone!